Original articleRadiation dose and cancer risk estimates in 16-slice computed tomography coronary angiography
Section snippets
Patients
Fifty consecutive patients having CTCA performed at the Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, NY) for whom scan data were available were considered for the analysis. The study was approved by the Mount Sinai Institutional Review Board.
CT Scan Protocol
All examinations were performed on a 16-slice multidetector-row CT scanner (Somatom Sensation 16 equipped with VB10 software; Siemens AG, Munich, Germany) with spiral technique. Intravenous β-blockers were given to lower patients’ heart rates to a target rate of less
Patients
CTCAs were evaluated from 50 patients (30 men and 20 women). The mean age was 61 ± 12 years (range, 34 to 82 years). Nine patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery, as well as two additional patients, had a scan including the heart, ascending aorta, and aortic arch. The low–heart rate protocol was used in 2 patients. The mean heart rate during CTCA, after β-blockade, was 62.9 ± 8.6 beats/min (range, 49 to 88 beats/min).
Scan Parameters
The average maximum effective mAs for CTCA was 500 ± 37 mAs
Discussion
The main findings in this study are as follows: (1) the mean effective dose for a complete CTCA scan was 9.2 mSv in men and 10.1 mSv in women, whereas the inclusion of calcium scoring increased this value by 25% to 11.0 and 12.7 mSv, respectively; (2) weighted equivalent doses were highest to the lungs (4.2 mSv) and female breast (1.9 mSv); (3) the risk of cancer developing from CTCA averaged 1 in 1,600 and the risk of fatal cancer developing averaged 1 in 1,900; and (4) the primary contributor
Acknowledgment
Dr Einstein has served as a consultant to GE Healthcare (Waukesha, WI) and received travel funding from Philips Medical Systems (Andover, MA). Dr Henzlova has given lectures for Bristol-Myers Squibb (North Billerica, MA) and received research grants from GE Healthcare, Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, MA), and Cardiovascular Therapeutics (Palo Alto, CA).
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This work was supported in part by a National Institutes of Health/National Center for Research Resources Clinical and Translational Science Award (1 UL1 RR-24156-01).